Institutional Development Key To Effective Public Service – UMTH CMD Ahidjo

The chief medical director (CMD) of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo, has stressed the need for public servants and office holders to prioritise institutional development as a strategy for improving service delivery in the public sector.

Ahidjo made the call in Maiduguri, Borno State, after receiving an award for Courage in Leadership Amid Devastating Circumstances from the Journalists’ Forum for the Promotion of Health and Environment (REMAPSEN) Nigeria.

Speaking after receiving the award, the CMD, who has led the hospital for eight years, said building strong institutions rather than focusing on individual offices was critical to sustaining effective public service.

“Arising from my experience as CMD for eight years, I strongly believe that prioritising the development of institutions will help greatly in service delivery, especially in the public sector, or any position we occupy,” he said.

Ahidjo said the philosophy guided his response to the devastating September 2024 flood that destroyed or damaged a significant portion of medical equipment at the teaching hospital.

According to him, rather than allowing the disaster to cripple the hospital’s operations, he sought assistance to replace the damaged equipment while ensuring that interventions were channelled directly to the manufacturers.

“I sought for help to replace damaged or destroyed medical equipment in the hospital, allowing those who wanted to help us do so directly with the manufacturers. This paid off as the decision accelerated recovery and confidence in our efforts,” he said.

Presenting the award, the national coordinator of REMAPSEN Nigeria, Timothy Olanrewaju, said the forum recognised Ahidjo’s leadership in responding to challenges that threatened the hospital’s core responsibilities of training medical personnel, conducting research and providing secondary healthcare services.

Olanrewaju disclosed that less than a year after the flood, the hospital secured an intervention from Nigerian businessman, Sir Emeka Ofor, to replace a machine worth more than N1 billion that was destroyed at the hospital’s Cancer Centre.

He said the equipment was replaced directly through the manufacturers in the United States, describing the development as evidence of the CMD’s determination to rebuild the institution despite the scale of the disaster.

The forum also recognised Ahidjo’s leadership amid persistent insurgency and insecurity around the hospital, particularly following the suicide bomb attack at the hospital gate on Monday, March 16.

Olanrewaju said the mobilisation of hospital personnel to provide emergency care to dozens of victims at the Trauma Centre following the attack demonstrated the CMD’s courage and commitment to healthcare delivery in a conflict-affected environment.

He said the award was part of REMAPSEN Nigeria’s efforts to encourage stronger commitment to public health and environmental protection.

REMAPSEN Nigeria is the Nigerian chapter of the African Network for the Promotion of Health and Environment, established in 2023 by journalists reporting health and environmental issues across Africa.